Someone would have to be asleep to miss the bad economic news lately — including the loss of paper mill jobs in the Fox River Valley, the impending closing of the General Motors plant in Janesville — and the dearth of family-supporting manufacturing jobs statewide.

All of this points to the urgent need for more incentives for investment in technology companies that can provide for the jobs of the future.
Earlier this week, the Wisconsin Technology Council, a private group that advises the governor and Legislature, met in La Crosse. That group is all about improving the climate for investment — and furthering the relationship between Wisconsin’s research-intensive universities and the prospects for future job growth.

It’s well known that medical research breakthroughs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have led to exciting new commercial prospects.

But breakthroughs can take place at other campuses, as well. Recently, Graphene Solutions, a company led by UW-Platteville chemistry professor Jim Hamilton and CEO Philip Jackson has patent-pending nanotechnology that could have a strong impact on electronics, optics and materials science, was the grand prize winner in the 2008 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.

Here in La Crosse, there has been a considerable amount of networking that led to the creation of the 7 Rivers Region, which includes businesses and education leaders in La Crosse, Winona, and other parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. La Crosse also has a strong health care industry, and the expanding health-related firms such as Logistics Health Inc.

Technology-related entrepreneurs throughout Wisconsin need encouragement and access to capital. That means encouraging investors to make early “angel” investments in such firms.

To that end, the Technology Council reported recently that private money invested in high-tech startup companies in Wisconsin is up 43 percent — to $146 million.

To continue this progress, we need two things from the leaders of state government: A sensitivity to the economic development role that higher education plays, and more tax and other incentives to encourage business investment.

Recently, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle and the Republican-controlled Assembly were able to work together on some business and investment incentives (although some Republican legislators continue to regard the UW System with antipathy, which doesn’t help with economic development).

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats, under the leadership of Sen. Russ Decker of Weston, Wis., have been unwilling to see the long-term advantages of incentives for investment. That needs to change.

We’re in this for the long haul, but it will take time. But the responsible way to improve the economy is to encourage the high-tech companies of the future — and make sure there is a strong research base in our universities to support the effort.

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